Skip to main content

EU rolls out intelligent information services

The European Commission has adopted two regulations to promote the roll-out of intelligent information services, such as real-time warnings about dangerous road conditions ahead and information on safe and secure parking places for truck drivers. They can be provided through different means such as variable road signs, the radio and mobile phone applications. The Commission wants these information services to be interoperable and compatible across Europe, and available to as many drivers as possible along t
May 16, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The 1690 European Commission has adopted two regulations to promote the roll-out of intelligent information services, such as real-time warnings about dangerous road conditions ahead and information on safe and secure parking places for truck drivers. They can be provided through different means such as variable road signs, the radio and mobile phone applications.

The Commission wants these information services to be interoperable and compatible across Europe, and available to as many drivers as possible along the trans-European road network.

Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: “Smart systems are already part of most citizens’ daily life. Timely and accurate information can help us enhance road safety and security as well as transport efficiency.”

The number of road fatalities decreased by nine per cent in 2012, meaning that member states are back on track towards the objective of halving road deaths between 2010 and 2020.

Estimates suggest that intelligent information services could reduce the number of road fatalities by up to seven per cent, as well as the number and severity of accidents. They will also decrease delays caused by road accidents, CO2 emissions and the cost of repair of infrastructure. Moreover, they can reduce the time spent by lorry drivers searching for parking spaces up to thirty per cent.

The new regulations do not make the roll-out of information services mandatory. However, if and when member states, operators and service providers want to develop and deploy such services, they will have to comply with the regulations’ requirements.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Russia looks to ITS to curb congestion and reduce accidents
    May 7, 2015
    Major ITS installations are planned as the Russian capital Moscow grapples with extensive traffic problems. At the end of 2014, Russia’s first complex intelligent transport system (ITS) started easing traffic problems in and around the capital Moscow, following the implementation of the plans by the federal government and the city’s authorities.
  • Additional accuracy enhances ITS options
    March 19, 2015
    High accuracy and reliability of GNSS location data is available using the EGNOS services to be ready for Galileo’s expanding satellite constellation. Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are increasingly a building block for ITS applications from road user charging and E-call to tracking & tracing of freight. Even while the European Space Agency is still assembling the Galileo constellation, EGNOS (the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) is already providing the basis of a range of ser
  • Port of Hamburg launches intelligent traffic light
    June 3, 2015
    The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) in Germany and NXP Semiconductors have partnered on an intelligent traffic light for the port that they claim optimises the flow of truck traffic and guides drivers through the increasingly heavily used port more quickly and safely. The smartPORT traffic light was developed by the HPA in conjunction with its partners NXP, Siemens, Heusch/Boesefeldt and Hamburg Verkehrsanlagen. NXP supplied the solutions for the wireless communication, V2X and RFID, and ensures data pro
  • Growth of smart parking initiatives
    April 25, 2013
    New initiatives in smart parking have been announced in the US and Europe in recent months. Is the age of smarter parking finally with us? Jon Masters investigates. Smart parking comes to Manchester, reads the headline to a story posted on the UK city’s website towards the end of March this year. Sensors will be fixed to parking spaces to give drivers and authorities information on parking availability via mobile phone apps and other software, the story goes on to explain. Lower down the page, Manchester Ci